Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer.

He asks the teacher how long the exam lasts.

Breakdown of Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer.

• han: he
• spørre: to ask
• læreren: the teacher
• vare: to last
• hvor: how
• eksamenen: the exam
• lenge: long

Questions & Answers about Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer.

Why is it spør and not spørre in this sentence?

Spørre is the infinitive (to ask).
In a normal statement you need a finite verb in the right tense.

• Infinitive: å spørre = to ask
• Present tense: spør = ask(s)/is asking

Norwegian present tense is the same for all persons:

• jeg spør – I ask
• du spør – you ask
• han/hun spør – he/she asks
• vi spør – we ask

So in Han spør læreren …, spør is just the regular present tense form: He asks the teacher…

Why don’t we say til læreren (to the teacher)? Why is it just spør læreren?

The verb å spørre works like this in Norwegian:

• å spørre noen om noe = to ask someone about something

There is no preposition before the person you ask:

• Han spør læreren. – He asks the teacher.
  (not spør til læreren)

Some patterns:

• spør læreren om leksene – ask the teacher about the homework
• spør henne – ask her
• spør dem – ask them

So læreren is a direct object (the person being asked), and no til is used.

Why is it læreren and not just lærer?

Lærer means a teacher, while læreren means the teacher.

• en lærer – a teacher (indefinite)
• læreren – the teacher (definite)

In this sentence we are clearly talking about a specific teacher that both speaker and listener know (for example, his own teacher), so Norwegian uses the definite form with the -en ending:

• Han spør læreren … – He asks the teacher …

If we said Han spør en lærer, it would mean He asks *a teacher*, not necessarily one that is already known in the context.

What are the two parts of the sentence? Where is the main clause and where is the “question” part?

You can divide the sentence like this:

• Main clause: Han spør læreren – He asks the teacher
• Embedded (indirect) question: hvor lenge eksamen varer – how long the exam lasts

The second part is not a direct question; it is an indirect question embedded inside the sentence.
In English we do the same:

• He asks the teacher how long the exam lasts.

Why is the word order eksamen varer and not varer eksamen?

This is the key difference between a direct and an indirect question.

1. Direct question (stand‑alone question, V2 word order):

   • Hvor lenge varer eksamen? – How long does the exam last?
     Here the verb varer comes before the subject eksamen.

2. Indirect question (embedded inside another sentence):

   • Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer.
     In an indirect question, Norwegian uses normal clause word order:
     subject + verb → eksamen varer.

So:

• Direct: Hvor lenge varer eksamen?
• Indirect: … hvor lenge eksamen varer.

In English we say “will last” about a future exam. Why does Norwegian use present tense varer?

Norwegian very often uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially for scheduled or fixed events:

• Toget går klokka åtte. – The train leaves at eight.
• Filmen begynner snart. – The movie starts soon.
• Eksamen varer tre timer. – The exam lasts three hours.

In English you might say “the exam will last…”, but Norwegian is happy with plain present varer when the time is already set.

You can also say skal vare or kommer til å vare, but in this sentence varer is the most natural.

Why do we say hvor lenge and not hvor lang here?

Norwegian makes a clear difference:

• lenge = an adverb of duration (for how long, how long in time)
• lang = an adjective of length (how long/tall something is as a property)

Use hvor lenge for duration of events:

• Hvor lenge varer eksamen? – How long does the exam last?
• Hvor lenge skal du være her? – How long will you be here?

Use hvor lang with a noun:

• Hvor lang er filmen? – How long is the movie?
• Hvor lang tid tar det? – How long (time) does it take?

In hvor lenge eksamen varer, we’re asking about the duration of the exam, so hvor lenge is correct.

Why is there no en or den in front of eksamen? Why not en eksamen or eksamenen?

Eksamen is one of those nouns that is often used without an article when we talk about the activity/event in general:

• Han har eksamen i morgen. – He has an exam / the exam tomorrow.
• Under eksamen må det være stille. – During the exam, it must be quiet.

In your sentence:

• hvor lenge eksamen varer – how long the exam lasts

We are referring to the exam as an event, so Norwegian commonly leaves out the article.
If you said en eksamen, it would sound more like “an exam (one of several possible exams)”, not the specific, scheduled exam he’s asking about.

Could we add om and say: Han spør læreren om hvor lenge eksamen varer?

Yes, that is possible Norwegian, but the most natural form here is without om:

• Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer. ✔️ (most common)
• Han spør læreren om hvor lenge eksamen varer. ✔️ (also allowed)

General pattern:

• With a question word (hvor, hva, hvem, hvorfor), you can use om, but often drop it.
• With no question word (yes/no questions), you must use om:
  • Han spør læreren om eksamen varer lenge. – He asks the teacher if the exam lasts long.

So in your sentence, adding om is optional and slightly more formal; leaving it out is very natural.

Could we say Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen skal vare instead of varer?

Yes, you can say both:

• hvor lenge eksamen varer
• hvor lenge eksamen skal vare

Differences:

• varer – neutral present tense; very common for scheduled events.
• skal vare – emphasizes that this is how long it is planned / supposed to last.

In most contexts, varer is simpler and more idiomatic, but skal vare is also correct and understandable.

Could we move læreren into the second part, like Han spør hvor lenge læreren eksamen varer?

No, that would be ungrammatical.

The structure is:

• Main clause: Han spør læreren (subject + verb + object)
• Embedded question: hvor lenge eksamen varer

The object læreren belongs to the main verb spør and must stay in the main clause:

• ✔️ Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer.
• ✖️ Han spør hvor lenge læreren eksamen varer.

You can move the whole embedded question, but not insert læreren into it, for example:

• Læreren spør han hvor lenge eksamen varer. – The teacher asks him how long the exam lasts.

What is the difference between Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer and Han spør læreren hvor lang eksamen er?

Both can be understood, but they sound a bit different:

1. Han spør læreren hvor lenge eksamen varer.
   – Focus on duration as an event (how many minutes/hours it runs).
   This is the most natural way to ask how long an exam lasts.

2. Han spør læreren hvor lang eksamen er.
   – Grammatically OK, but sounds more like “how long (in length) the exam is”,
   slightly less idiomatic for duration of an exam.
   More natural with tid: hvor lang tid eksamen tar – how long (time) the exam takes.

In everyday Norwegian, hvor lenge eksamen varer is the best choice for this meaning.

How are spør, læreren, and eksamen pronounced?

Approximate pronunciations (Bokmål, standard eastern accent):

• spør – roughly “spurr” with Norwegian ø like the vowel in British “bird” (but with rounded lips).
• læreren – roughly “LAIR-uh-run”:
  
  • læ like in English “lad” but a bit longer
  • rer with a tapped or rolled r
  • final -en usually reduced and quite weak in speech.
• eksamen – roughly “ek-SAA-men”:
  
  • ek like “ek” in “neck”
  • sa with a long a, like “father”
  • men like English “men” but often with a lighter final n.

Exact pronunciation varies by dialect, but these approximations will be understood everywhere.